Testing and Refining State-and Prediction-Based Theory

Abstract

This chapter highlights the importance of testing and refining the behavior theory in individual-based models (IBMs). Establishing a model's credibility is not the only reason to test theory for behavior. Doing so also offers a new and productive approach to theoretical ecology: a way to develop a toolbox of across-level theory useful for modeling populations of adaptive individuals. One can refer to testing and refining behavior sub-models as theory development, and one can do it by following the classic inductive reasoning cycle of posing, testing, and falsifying alternative hypotheses. The chapter provides a brief introduction to the pattern-oriented theory development process and presents several examples.